Surface mount circuit devices generally have a plastic body that is of rectangular shape as seen in a top view, and multiple leads that extend from the sides of the body. With the body lying closely over a circuit board, the leads have largely horizontal upper parts extending outwardly from the body, largely vertical middle parts that extend down to the circuit board, and largely outwardly-extending lower parts that lie directly on conductive pads of the circuit board and which are soldered or otherwise attached thereto. Prior test clips have generally included a housing that bears against the top of the circuit device body and thin latches that fit between the leads and clamp against lower parts of the body to securely hold the test lead to the circuit device. After or during engagement of the latches with the body, the lower ends of test contacts are deflected by pivoting arms against the circuit device leads.
More recent circuit devices that include VLSI (very large scale integration) chips have large numbers of leads. The spacing or pitch of the leads is 25 mil (1 mil one thousandth inch) or less, resulting in a space of only 13 mil or less between leads. It is not practical to try to provide molded plastic barriers or latches of less than 13 mil thickness to pass between leads and engage the lower part of the device body. As a result, it can be difficult to provide a means for holding the test clip securely to the circuit device and to assure that the test clip contacts accurately engage corresponding leads of the circuit device. A test clip that could be securely held to a surface mount circuit device and whose contacts could be reliably engaged with the circuit device leads, in a relatively simple and low-cost construction, would be of considerable value.